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In the early period of Kobbie Mainoo’s rapid ascension to the top of English football, it’s difficult to pick out which specific attribute of the Manchester United starlet is his most impressive.
The 18-year-old’s technical ability is superb; his reading of the game belies his years; his ability to dribble through midfield more reminiscent of midfielder born in Barcelona than one from Stockport; and his athleticism means he’s able to thrive in men’s football, despite only becoming legal to buy a pint last year.
Yet, despite this outrageous selection of strengths, it’s Mainoo’s temperament which is perhaps his best attribute; and the one which means he’s destined for greatness.
A Strong First Impression
When Mainoo trained with senior squad at Carrington for the first time, he casually replied “it was alright” and that he “did okay” when a coach asked the youngster how it went. In reality, it went far better than Mainoo’s modest assessment of his own performance.
Two senior players approached the same coach after the session to praise Mainoo, revealing he made a “strong impresson” and “held his own” amongst World Cup and Champions League winning stars. Another source at the club describes him as a “real natural talent with high technical ability.”
In subsequent interviews since Mainoo has firmly established himself in Erik ten Hag’s starting eleven, his team mates have gone even further in their praise.
Casemiro – a player Mainoo “loves to play with” because of the freedom the experienced Brazilian affords his young English partner – describes the 18-year-old as someone who will “be a top player for years”. Bruno Fernandes agrees, revealing “he’s got so much talent” when asked about Mainoo. Rasmus Hojlund, pictured with Mainoo alongside Alejandro Garnacho below, contends he is a “generational talent”.
Rasmus Højlund, Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo are all under the age of 21 and have become Manchester United’s biggest game-changers.
The future is bright 🤩 pic.twitter.com/eNkZA4KkQy
— ESPN UK (@ESPNUK) February 4, 2024
Staying Level-Headed
Yet, in the midst of this whirlwind rise to fame, Mainoo has remained calm and measured in his approach to football; professional about his profession.
The 18-year-old still lives at home with his mother. He continues to use the main car park at Carrington, as youth players are instructed to, rather than the first-team car park right behind the main building. Contract talks over a new, more lucrative deal are ongoing, but Mainoo is said to be solely focused on finishing the season as strongly as possible, rather than worrying about finances.
He’s described as a “very calm character who takes everything in his stride.” Pretty much every person who has crossed paths with him at the club “paints a picture of a grounded, likable young man.”
It’s the type of approach a club dreams of when a young talent emerges from their academy as triumphantly as Mainoo has.
Breaking the Mould
While United have always produced excellent prospects from their academy, in recent years there has been a worrying trend of the attitude and professionalism of these players not been commensurate with their talent.
Mason Greenwood is perhaps the best academy graduate since the Class of 92, yet it is almost certain he will never play for the club again. The reasons for this can be explored further here, but issues with the forward’s behaviour existed prior to these severe allegations in 2022.
Marcus Rashford is one of United’s biggest stars and most senior players. The 26-year-old put pen to paper on a new five-year deal last July, worth a £325,000 a week, having graduated from the academy seven years previously.
Yet issues with behaviour and commitment continue to plague the England international, despite having made nearly 400 appearances for the first-team.
In February, Rashford travelled to Belfast on a midweek break, approved by the club. He proceeded to go on a forty-eight hour alcohol-fuelled bender, only returning to Manchester at 7am, just hours before being required to report for training, ahead of United’s FA Cup tie against Newport County.
Instead, Rashford called in sick, having broken the terms of the agreement made with club officials. He was promptly dropped from the squad for the important game, and made to train alone, requiring a personal apology to Ten Hag.
It’s not the first time this season an unwise social decision has landed the 26-year-old in trouble either.
Similarly, though less high-profile than Greenwood and Rashford, Brandon Williams, another academy player, has also displayed a less than ideal attitude since graduating to the senior squad. The 23-year-old appeared in court on Friday to defend himself against allegations of dangerous driving, relating to a car crash back in November.
These incidents, while not comparable to one another, offer an insight into how the jump from the youth team to the senior team is not always a smooth one. Yet Mainoo is making the transition appear seamless.
Steve Railston (The Manchester Evening News) writes: “There have been dozens of players to come through United’s academy who have gone by the wayside due to mentality concerns, but such doubts have never existed with Mainoo.”
The Temperament to Match the Talent
Railston believes Mainoo has the “required temperament to enjoy a brilliant career”, with the mentality that a player applies their talent as important as the talent itself. There is no truer adage in sport, indeed in life, than ‘hard work beats talent when talent does not work hard’.
So what happens when talent does work hard? Typically, it’s a recipe for greatness.
Sources at the club are thought to be extremely confident in Mainoo’s ability to stay grounded, and to continue working as hard now he has ‘made it’, as he was beforehand. They reveal they “would be surprised if Mainoo ever got ahead of himself”, with the players’ family thought to be a highly positive influence.
Indeed, Mainoo’s reaction to being called up to the England squad this week, and the national acclaim which accompanied it, has continued to be a measured one.
The 18-year-old is in line to make his debut for his country at Wembley, having been named on the bench for tonight’s friendly against Brazil – the type of moment every young footballer dreams of. Yet he has been modest in his interviews this week, revealing when he first received the news, he assumed it was simply to make up the numbers in training, rather than an actual squad place.
This bashful response was quickly balanced by Mainoo’s ambition, however – be on the plane to Germany for EURO 2024 this summer. “Yeah, I think that’s the end goal for the season, to get into that squad,” he stated.
It’s the type of interview which encapsulates the academy graduate’s meteoric rise – modest and ambitious in equal parts. Given his skill with a football more than matches his professional mentality, the world is at Mainoo’s talented feet.
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